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Feelings as Considered by Preplatonic and Contemporary Philosophers - Coincidence or Influence?

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Abstract

Feelings' role in ancient Greek conceptions up till now has not become clear. As far as the researchers of antiquities are interested in Aristotle's and Hellenistic philosophers, Plato's and his predecessors has not been analysed from this point of view yet. It is often connected with a fact that Preplatonic philosophy is so-called philosophy of physis, and/or its nature is exclusively rationalistic. Thanks to the analysis of three passages (Heraclitus fr. B 85, Parmenides fr. B 3 and Democritus fr. B 31), and multilevel interpretation of Plato's conception one can indicate - if focus one's attention on the elements concerning the affectivity - the similarities to contemporary philosophers' outlooks. Among others, they concern 1) Heraclitus (and Parmenides fr. B 1, 1) versus Hume, Pascal, Ribot, Brentano, Bergson, 2) Parmenides versus Descartes, 3) Democritus versus Ribot, 4) Plato versus Scheler and Hartmann. Such analyses and interpretations let conquer conventional thinking of the Greek emotionality issue, because on the one hand they reveal a kind of deformations and misconstructions in searches, and on the other show a current interest of ancient interpretations. In support of the statement it is worth reminding of the formulation 'emotional intelligence' that recently has enjoyed great popularity. Its origins can be found already in Greek philosophers' thought.

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